The present invention relates generally to video conferencing systems, and more particularly to a method in system for recording audio/video streams of a video conference without requiring extra bandwidth or CPU processing power.
As videoconferencing becomes more prevalent, additional features are being provided in order for the videoconferencing applications to further appeal to a broader range of participants. One feature that is being pursued is the ability to record the videoconference session. Currently, the server hosting the videoconference session processes incoming audio/video streams, generates composite frames for each participant, encodes the generated frames and transmits those frames to each participant.
Recording videoconference sessions may require extra bandwidth and central processing unit (CPU) processing power. Videoconference meetings hosted by a meeting conference unit (MCU) server requires a significant amount of CPU processing power in order to process the incoming audio/video stream, generate composite frames for each participant, encode the generated frames, and transmit those frames to a participant. Thus, any additional processing required for the recording of the videoconference session will add extra overhead to the MCU server. Consequently, participants may start to get a choppy audio, noisy video, and a lower frame rate when viewing the videoconference. In essence, the actual videoconference session quality perceived by each participant may drop in order to provide the ability to record the videoconference session.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a method and system for recording a videoconference session without adding extra overhead to the host server, and the recorded videoconference session is easily accessible for review.